HealthStack held its first Data + Dignity Dinner on Monday, Aug. 17 at Atria in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard. Nearly 65 health executives, physicians and innovators attended the exclusive event, one-third more than the 50 guests originally expected.
Co-hosted with Truthlight Studio’s Data + Dignity program, the dinner was developed in partnership with Real Chemistry as part of the brand’s Health Dignity Initiative. The initiative explores whether people feel seen, heard, and taken seriously in health experiences and is designed to reframe how communication, connection and credibility are built in healthcare.
The intimate evening closed out AfroTech House at Martha’s Vineyard, which opened with a full day of daytime programming.
Radical Hospitality In Practice
Martha’s Vineyard has been a summer gathering point for Black professionals for generations. HealthStack built the Data + Dignity Dinner as an off-conference extension of that history. It was an invite-only evening for senior healthcare leaders, away from the usual conference floor.
Aletha Maybank, CEO and founder of Truthlight Studio, opened the night by naming the intention behind it directly.
“The point of tonight is for a deeper level of meaning and connection, rooted in ‘Radical Hospitality,’ being rooted in a space where we are connecting through love and story,” she said.
Set under string lights in Atria’s outdoor tent, the room played that idea out in real time. Longtime colleagues who hadn’t seen each other in years got the opportunity to catch up over dinner. People who’d only known each other online met in person for the first time. That communal spirit carried through the entire night.
Bridging Health Leadership Across Generations
The evening’s centerpiece was a conversation called “From Inherited Truths to What We Build Next.” Moderated by Maybank, the discussion included Michellene Davis (CEO, National Medical Fellowships), Dr. Sharon Malone (Chief Medical Advisor, Alloy Health), and Real Chemistry’s own Jewel Jones-Truxon (EVP, Executive Director, Inclusive Health).
Jones-Truxon pushed the room toward an asset-based read of health data, using Black maternal mortality as the example.
“How do we move away from a deficit lens to an asset-based approach to healthcare?” she asked, pointing to the need to look not just at where Black women are dying, but where they’re living longer, and why.
‘Tell It Moments,’ One Table at a Time
The dinner then moved into “Tell It Moments.” It was a series of short, rotating interviews with Roy Hawkins Jr. (SVP Operations & President, Charlotte Area, Advocate Health), Dr. Kendric Dartis (VP, Social Impact & Partnerships, Truth Initiative), and Kimberly Seals Allers (Founder & CEO, Irth / Birth Without Bias). Each moment built around the same three questions: What are you working on? What do you need? How do you build?
Dartis’ framing was one of the night’s sharpest. “Tobacco,” he said, is “the leading preventable cause of death for our people each and every day. It might not show up on a death certificate, but it shows up in our day-to-day walks.”
The guest list spanned pharma, health systems and public health. Notable names, such as Dr. Uche Blackstock of Advancing Health Equity, Tanisha Sullivan of Sanofi, and Carl Hill of the Alzheimer’s Association being among those in the room. Real Chemistry’s own Hilina Kebede, the VP of Digital & Technology, was also in attendance. Word of mouth on the island attracted a few additional guests to pop up, including GirlTrek co-founder Vanessa Renae and Humana Northeast Market President Camille Brundidge.
By the time dinner wound down, it was Davis’ framing of the night that stuck with the room. “What the Vineyard is to me, and perhaps many of you, is an opportunity not just to convene with other incredible people, but is an opportunity for Black Joy.”
